FreeServe IPO Goes Off Well

from the internet-mania-across-the-pond dept

Well, it's not that big of a surprise, but I guess it's worth mentioning that the British ISP that made free ISPs famous: FreeServe, has had a pretty good IPO, at least by British standards. A 40% increase is certainly nice, but call us when you have a really ridiculous IPO like we're used to over here.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Todd, 26 Jul 1999 @ 6:23pm

    No Subject Given

    But...their pre-IPO pricing is different than here, I believe; they work more closely with brokerages to set the price closer to what the general public will likely pay for the stock. This is a distant memory -- perhaps TD readers in UK can comment?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Donal Fleming, 28 Jul 1999 @ 3:27am

    Freeserve IPO


    [As someone on the other side of the pond] - I don't think they price IPO's any differently over
    here than in the US - we just haven't been hit by the Tech-Stock fever you guys have been experiencing yet.......
    [If you think about it wouldn't make sense to deliberately underprice an offering - the company issuing the Equity is effectively throwing away good money........]

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    Mike (profile), 28 Jul 1999 @ 5:34am

    Throwing away money

    The "throwing away money" argument of underpricing an IPO is what I've been telling folks for years, but no one listens. That's because to most people, the important money is what the individuals who own the stock get, and not what the company raises... It's the companies that are trying to raise money that are getting screwed by the underpricings, and I'm surprised that those companies don't get pissed off back at the underwriters. My guess is that the fact that the principals in the company have become so filthy stinkin' rich following the IPO, that they just don't care...

    Meanwhile, there's a ridiculous perception among retail investors that an IPO has to shoot up to insane heights if it's really worth anything.

    Ah... what a fun marketplace.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.